Nintendo And Microsoft Are Rubbing Sony's Face In It

We're conditioned to expect console manufacturers to be bitter rivals, constantly at each other's throats in a battle for market supremacy. But sometimes, the enemy of an enemy can be a friend.

We got a reminder during E3 that the PS4, unlike most other platforms on Earth, does not support crossplay between consoles. That means that if you have an Xbox One, and a friend of yours has a PS4, and you both want to play the same game together, you can't.

Fortnite players who had an Epic account on PS4 and have tried to play the new Nintendo Switch version of the game are reporting that they have run into a problem: They're not allowed to use the same account.

Some of the world's biggest games, from Fortnite to Minecraft to Rocket League, all support some variety of crossplay, allowing people with PCs, Xbox Ones, mobiles and Nintendo consoles to play on the same servers. Yet Sony continues to refuse to allow PlayStation consoles to get in on the fun when it comes to playing with Microsoft or Nintendo consoles.

In the wake of E3 and the disappointment of Fortnite's account locking, then, two of the companies that do allow crossplay have teamed up to take a swing at the PlayStation 4 with this commercial for Minecraft, a game that's also available on PS4:

This isn't an ad designed to highlight the platforms that are playing together. It's designed to highlight the platform that isn't.

And while at the end of the day it's just a marketing jab, I think it's one a lot of people can genuinely get behind because Sony's policy sucks, and if two rival massive companies want to have some fun with that, then have at it.

The Switch has been on the market only a little over a year and the PS4 launched in 2013. The Switch is also the fastest selling console of all time. You can't compare sales figures between those two consoles. Maybe between the PS4 and Xbone you can.

I know, and I don't really see the Switch as competing with the Xbox or PS4 in any real sense. I was more speaking to Microsoft's position, of barely hitting half of Sony's sales figures this generation - that degree of imbalance just isn't good for competition.

Dont worry, you can be sure it will swing around again. As good as sony is at the moment they are just starting to make some questionable moves. With success comes contempt but rivalry is also healthy. When a company is under the pump you can be sure they will fight or they'll die.

I reckon if Sony do it, they'll do it when PS5 comes out. There's really no incentive for them to do it now with what is an insurmountable lead over the competition. When the shift to the next generation comes along and the install base resets to 0 then they might not want to put themselves at a disadvantage by keeping PSN closed.

Only if that negative press translates into significant loss of sales. But it probably won't. Cross-platform play is an issue for people for whom "I want to play online with my friends" is a significant issue when choosing a console. But Sony's market position is currently so dominant that, statistically speaking, your friends are more likely than not playing on PS4. In which case keeping PSN closed means that if playing online with your friends is something you value then you pretty much have to buy a PS4. If you don't care about playing online with your friends then PSN being open or closed is pretty much a non-issue either way. So their sales will likely remain unaffected if they keep the status quo.

At the rate the Switch is selling, it'll overtake the PS4 easily enough. The PS4's latest sales figures put it at around 73.6 million units, while in it's first year alone, the Switch sold around 17.79 million units. If it keeps that up for the 5ish years the PS4 has been on the market it'll hit 88.95 million units.

And let's not forget Sony will be essentially starting from square one again whenever they launch the PS5, assuming that's sometime in the next couple of years. I have a PS4, I like the console...but...I can't help but wonder whether they are shooting themselves in the foot with this policy when it comes time for the PS5 to launch. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they change their policy for the PS5, since they'll no longer be the market leader.

It's hard to dictate what the market would do. A flop of a console (wiiu) didn't stop Nintendo's sucsess later.
If Sony keeps on with their exclusive tittles it could be hard to make people not buy them. People also forget things so fast will they even care in a few years?

Oh here we go Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Nintendo Switch joining forces to bring us Mojang's Minecraft for the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Studios Minecraft for the Xbox One due to the fact that PS4's Fortnite Epic accounts are locked out from transferring their online play on to Fortnite for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo and Microsoft Studios will definitely get Sony's face rubbed out for sure.

I do like the idea of Team Green and the Big N throwing shade at Sony. but hopefully this leads to Growth for the companies. I am personally not a Console gamer but i still want to see these consoles flourish because it can only be good for the Gaming industry in the long Run.

I can't honestly see the swipe at Sony in this ad - it's just promoting the fact that Minecraft is available cross-platform between the XBox and the Switch. If the Playstation wants to be part of the promotion, it's an easy fix for Sony.

This is a level of petty bitchiness I can get behind, even as someone that doesn't own either platform.

That being said, I am interested in what their plan will be in two to three years when the next gen comes out and the Switch isn't able to keep up. Will there be games that just make concessions so that crossplay is capable then?

It's only games that are compatible already. Rocket League, Minecraft and Fortnite don't really push too hard. Even then, for new games, you can make the Switch port look a bit worse and still play the same.

Except with the Switches ARM architecture advancing far faster than the more traditional x86 based stuff the Switch is poised to be able to upgrade faster than the ps5 can. It's quite possible that the next Switch will be able to launch closer to the next gen time wise and be much more similar power wise if Nintendo and NVIDIA choose to do so.

I mean, phones launch every year on ARM and are getting more and more powerful. The only thing holding back the switch from doing the same is working out a backwards comparability structure and letting consumers know that newer games are Switch 2+ only

It is not about whether it can be upgraded, its whether Nintendo will push for it. Nintendo don't exactly keep to the same schedule as MS and Sony. My guess is that an update for the Switch won't happen for a while.

Same. Only difference this time around is that online features are far more prevalent, but when it was Microsoft having the superior numbers, they didnt want a piece of the action either.

This is nothing more than a business decision to try and catch up to Sony, who's sitting on their pile of money and looking down at this. Non event until Microsoft has the market share to actually hurt them. Which isnt this generation.

Get the partnership even closer I reckon. Give me the likes of Forza Horizon 3 on my Switch, and maybe Zelda on the Xbox. Have the accounts be fully cross compatible so I can game on the go with the Switch and on the TV with the Xbox.

Don't pretend you don't know this isn't indicative of a broader policy. There are at least ten games right now that support crossplay between Xbox and Switch that don't support PS4, including Rocket League, Trailblazers and Paladins.

If that happens in the future, I'll be condemning it then too. But that doesn't change that it's happening right now, and should be condemned just the same right now. Be wary of choice-supportive bias, that only benefits them, not us.

It tends to go that the winner of any generation tends to get complacent and loses the next one, so I I wont really give Microsoft any real credit till next generation if they are on top they still want sony to cross play with them. As it stands I completely understand the winner not wanting to do it, but having a xbone and a ps4 it would be nice to be able to play co-op with the wife.

Triple AAA games nailing the brief. Indie games surprising people out of nowhere, and expansions and patches that completely turn a game around. It's been a good year for games - now it's time for you to vote for your favourite.